I'm head over heels in love with soup. Once the weather turns cooler, I make a batch of soup (or more!) each week, trying new recipes as well as improving upon tried-and-true favorites. I love the whole process of creating a pot of soup--from chopping to the final stir--and the simplicity of serving it. Just add a hunk of warm bread and dinner is served.

Here are three more reasons I love soup:

1. It's a great way to use up leftovers or produce items that need to be eaten. When I decide to make a pot of soup, I start by surveying my refrigerator: Do I have any opened boxes or cans of broth in the fridge? What vegetables are starting to wilt? Could any of the leftovers see a new life in this soup?

2. One pot yields endless meals. My husband and I eat some for lunch or dinner the day I make it. Then I divide the leftovers between my freezer and my refrigerator. I can defrost the frozen soup on a night when making dinner is the last thing I feel like doing. And the soup in the fridge can go to work with one or both of us for lunch the next day.

3. Eating soup might help me lose weight. One recent study showed that people who started lunch with vegetable soup ended up eating 20 percent less than those who skipped the soup. Anything to trick me into eating less helps!

This simple pureed vegetable soup recipe makes a great starter or accompaniment to a hearty salad for dinner. Plus leftovers are such a nice thing to have for lunch the next day.

Pureed Broccoli Soup

Try this easy broccoli soup as alongside grilled cheese sandwiches or as a starter to a simple fall meal.

2. Stir in broccoli. Add water and broth; bring to a lively simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook until very tender, about 8 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Stir in half-and-half (if using), salt and pepper.

Note: Chicken-flavored broth, a vegetarian broth despite its name, is preferable to vegetable broth in some recipes for its hearty, rich flavor. Sometimes called "No-Chicken Broth," it can be found with the soups in the natural-foods section of most supermarkets.

Pureed Broccoli Soup

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